Being an adult has its downsides — such as needing to spend your money on things you don’t really want — but when something pops up that makes you go “whoa”, spending money is fun. That might be gadgets like a phone or a great pair of headphones, or it could also be a can of something that helps make you think of your childhood.
Cast your mind back a bit, and if you grew up in the 80s and 90s in Australia, you probably consumed a few different sweets here and there.
Australia has some great lollies and chocolates, and as someone who grew up both in America and Australia, our little spot of the world has quite a few sweets worth remembering. You mightn’t recall it on first glance, but if we name a few, we can bet your brain will send the right message to your tastebuds, and those memories will come flooding in.
Musk sticks. Caramello Koalas.
Oh, and Fruit Tingles. You remember those, right?
For folks who don’t, fruit tingles were chalky lollies made by Lifesavers that elicited the taste of sherbet, but in a coin-sized way that you could take with you. They’re tiny fizzy lollies made for the pocket, and one of the first things you’d reach for as a kid.
You probably don’t do that anymore, and that’s fine; as an adult, you can reach for anything you can pay for.
However, Billson’s has been working some magic lately and making a sparkling drink based on those lollies blended to be more adult-friendly with vodka.
And the result is fan-freakin’-spectacular.
The drink is called a “Fruit Tangle” likely because the obvious name is probably copyrighted and Billson’s doesn’t want to get it confused with something kids would eat or drink for some pretty obvious reasons. You can still find Fruit Tingles, so this makes a lot of sense.
While the actual Fruit Tingle lolly comes in a variety of colours, the hue of Billson’s Fruit Tangle isn’t what you’d expect. Mind you, this isn’t a bad thing, because whoever dissolved fruit tingle lollies in the first place to find out they’re official colour.
Rather, it’s a lovely purple that seems out of place for alcohol, but again, who cares what it looks like, because this is about the taste.
In Billson’s Fruit Tangles, the flavour is initially sweet and cheerful, with that sherbet-like tartness on the back palette. It’s easy to drink and reminiscent of youth all grown up.
Seriously, there’s some crazy drink-making black magic at work in the alcohol Fruit Tangle, but whatever it is, we want more.
